SALT Galata: Free Exhibitions in the Former Ottoman Bank

Updated on October 4, 2026

SALT Galata occupies the former headquarters of the Imperial Ottoman Bank (Osmanlı Bankası), a large late-19th-century building on Bankalar Caddesi ("Banks Street") in Karaköy. This cultural centre of the SALT foundation combines exhibition halls, a research library, the Ottoman Bank Museum, a bookshop, a café and a restaurant. Admission is free for everyone, with no ticket, Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm and Sunday from 11am to 6pm (information taken from the SALT website in October 2026). It is one of the best free visits in Istanbul, especially on a rainy day. Allow one to one and a half hours, longer if you use the library or have lunch on site.

Highlights

The great hall and the library

The heart of the building is an atrium with galleries and columns, which SALT preserved when it reopened the building to the public. This side-by-side of an old photograph and the present-day view shows the same volume: the research library now occupies the space where the bank's clerks once worked.

The building's architecture

Coffered ceilings, chequerboard marble stair landings and tall arched windows are reminders that the building was designed as a state bank in Ottoman times. The upper-floor windows also give glimpses of the Golden Horn.

The Ottoman Bank Museum

Housed in the building, the museum tells the story of the institution that issued Ottoman currency and financed part of the empire's modernisation. It is among the spaces open to everyone, without a ticket, during the same hours as SALT.

Temporary exhibitions

SALT Galata presents contemporary art and history exhibitions, renewed several times a year; the full programme is on the SALT website. The foundation also runs SALT Beyoğlu, on İstiklal Avenue (İstiklal Caddesi 136), which is also free during the same hours.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Admission is free for all visitors. SALT Galata and SALT Beyoğlu are closed during the religious holidays (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha), on 1 January and on 1 May. For a day of art, combine the visit with Istanbul Modern and the Pera Museum, or read our guide to contemporary art in Istanbul. More free entries are listed in our guide to free museums in Istanbul.

How to get there

Bankalar Caddesi No: 11, 34421 Karaköy, Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Metro M2, Şişhane station (Karaköy exit), then a few minutes' walk downhill towards Bankalar Caddesi. You can also walk from the Galata Bridge or the Galata Tower, which is a neighbour.